ScalaHosting Review: Is it the best VPS Hosting Provider?

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Whether you are a business owner, blogger, or an IT specialist, having reliable hosting is the most important factor in strengthening your online presence.

The LiteSpeed web server is gaining popularity and a lot of hosting companies are implementing it and offering it to customers at an affordable price; one such provider is called ScalaHosting.

Apart from the shared and reseller hosting, ScalaHosting is quite known for its managed cloud VPS. In this post, I will review the ScalaHosting VPS plan after testing it for a few months.

Overview of ScalaHosting

Brand	ScalaHosting
Website:	ScalaHosting.com
Year Founded:	2007
Headquarters:	Dallas, Texas
Service Types:	Managed Cloud VPS, Web Hosting, WordPress Hosting and Email Hosting
Base VPS Plan:	$29.95 /mo
Customer Support:	Ticketing and chat
Data Centers:	Dallas-US, New York-US, Sofia-EU (Additional 13 data centers available with integrated AWS)
Uptime:	99.9%
Reliability:	Real-time Malware Protection, Blacklists Monitoring & Removal, Outbound SPAM Protection, etc.
Trial Period:	No trials, but they offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.
CDN:	No dedicated CDN, but full compatibility with all CDN providers.
Email hosting:	Available
Control Panel:	cPanel, SPanel
Domain Registration:	Available
Competitors:	GreenGeeks, Liquidweb, Hostinger

There are so many hosting platforms available to choose from. But you need to pick one that offers optimal performance and excellent customer service at a very affordable price. In that case, ScalaHosting can be the right solution.

The platform stands out from other VPS and cloud hosting providers. The Trustpilot has ranked ScalaHosting at number one in multiple categories; Cloud Computing and Web Hosting Company.

ScalaHosting Specifications

ScalaHosting managed VPS base plan comes with 2 CPU Cores with 4 GB RAM along with
50 GB NVMe SSD storage and unlimited bandwidth. The Top plan offers 12 CPU Cores with 24 GB RAM, which is suitable for high-traffic websites.

The major difference between ScalaHosting and other VPS providers is that ScalaHosting supports OpenLiteSpeed as well as LiteSpeed Enterprise web servers on all its VPS plans.

ScalaHosting Interface (SPanel)

ScalaHosting offers its very own control panel known as SPanel for all its VPS plans; SPanel is a good alternative to cPanel that provides more tools and control to run your websites.

Unlike cPanel, SPanel offers more features on ScalaHosting VPS without having to pay for extra services such as Real-time Malware Protection, Subusers & Collaborators, Outbound SPAM Protection, etc.

You Install your favorite CMS like WordPress or Joomla within a few minutes.

With SPanel, you can control and install your desired web server with its web server manager section with a few clicks.

You can also restart your web server or the services you use to troubleshoot your technical issues inside the SPanel.

Performance of ScalaHosting

Let’s do some speed tests to determine how good ScalaHosting’s managed cloud VPS plan is.

In this test,

In this test, I will be using the base VPS plan with 2 CPU Cores with 4 GB RAM. For the speed test, I will be using GTmetrix and Google PageSpeed Insights.

Speed Test without CDN

I started the speed test of ScalaHosting with a clean install of WordPress on the OpenLiteSpeed web server using a GeneratePress theme. I added a demo content that supports e-commerce along with a blog section. Here I have also activated the LiteSpeed Cache plugin with a recommend preset.

The below screenshot shows the GTmetrix speed test. As you can see, it got an almost perfect score on the performance with default settings.

This demonstrates the performance of ScalaHosting VPS with an OpenLiteSpeed web server.

TTFB check

Time to first byte (TTFB) is used to measure the server response time. The lower the TTFB, the less time your visitors have to wait to see your web page. In this test, I have used KeyCDN Tools to measure the TTFB of a site hosted on ScalaHosting.

The demo site is hosted on ScalaHosting’s New York data center.

If you look at the above screenshot, you will see that locations from the USA and Europe have a good TTFB compared to the locations that are far away from the New York data center. But this can be easily fixed by adding CDN (Content Delivery Network) which I will do in the next test.

Server Load Test

Before adding the CDN, I wanted to do the server load test to measure the server response of ScalaHosting VPS.

Here I’ve used Loader.io to test my demo site and the results are below. I have sent 250 requests per minute simulating the real traffic.

The Average Response Time was 267 ms, which honestly is very high. However, I think it might be due to some sort of DoS protection from the ScalaHosting, not sure.

Speed Test with CDN (QUIC.cloud)

Now let’s add a CDN and test the performance of our site. I am using QUIC.cloud since it’s suitable for OpenLiteSpeed WordPress sites. QUIC.cloud offers several features and can cache both static and dynamic WordPress content.

Additionally, QUIC.cloud currently has 84 PoPs across the globe and delivers content with the lowest average latency.

The above screenshot shows the GTmetrix speed test results while using QUIC.cloud CDN. The performance score shows 100/100 without making any changes to the theme.

TTFB with CDN (QUIC.cloud)

The below image shows the TTFB with CDN, now you can see that the average server response time is quite similar across the globe. Even the furthest locations like India show the lowest TTFB.

If you’re the OpenLiteSpeed or Enterprise LiteSpeed web server, I recommend you to use QUIC.cloud CDN.

Uptime

I have monitored my demo site for over a month using UptimeRobot, and the uptime was 100% as you can see in the above screenshot (look right sidebar).

ScalaHosting Plans 

ScalaHosting offers a range of hosting plans to cater to different website needs. If your website requires more resources or reliability, VPS or dedicated hosting options are available.

Users can also buy domain names using the platform without going elsewhere. The company offers monthly, annual, and triannual plans, with costs decreasing with longer commitments.

Shared Hosting Plan 

They offer four tiers of shared hosting, which are cost-effective since multiple sites share server resources.

Apart from the base plan, all other tiers include a free domain name, a one-click WordPress installation option, and a free migration feature. However, during traffic spikes, performance may be impacted as resources are distributed among sites.

In the shared hosting category, ScalaHosting provides four plans:

• Mini: Suitable for a single site with 20GB of storage. (starts at $2.95 per month)
• Start: Allows unlimited sites with 50GB storage and daily backups. (Starts at $5.95 per month)
• Advanced: Offers 100GB storage and priority support. (Starts at $9.95 per month)
• Entry Cloud: The most powerful plan with dedicated CPU and RAM, and 50GB NVMe SSD storage. (Starts at $14.95 per month)

ScalaHosting doesn’t offer Windows-based shared hosting, only Linux. All these plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Besides, users can also pay 99 cents for a month’s trial of the services. So that you can make informed decisions.

ScalaHosting Cloud VPS Plans 

Moving to VPS hosting, which is a step up from shared hosting, ScalaHosting’s plans are flexible and scalable.

Managed VPS hosting comes in four tiers, offering varying levels of resources. Self-managed and AWS VPS plans are also available.

The cloud VPS also has four plans. 

Build 1: Starts at $29.95 per month

• 2 CPU cores
• 4GB of RAM
• 50GB of NVMe storage
• Unlimited monthly data transfers

Build 2: Starts at $63.95 per month

• 4 CPU cores
• 8GB of RAM
• 100GB of storage

Build 3: Starts at $121.95 per month

• 8 CPU cores
• 16GB of RAM
• 150GB of storage

Build 4: Starts at $179.95 per month

• 12 CPU cores
• 24GB of RAM
• 200GB of NVMe storage

Self-managed Cloud VPS hosting plans 

Self-managed VPS hosting plans offer competitive pricing at $20.00 monthly for Build #1, featuring 2 CPU cores, 4GB RAM, and 50GB NVMe SSD storage.

As you scale up, Build #2, #3, and #4 provide increased resources at $45.00, $91.00, and $179.00 per month respectively.

Managed AWS VPS Hosting 

Managed AWS VPS Hosting provides stellar performance with plans starting at $61.95 monthly for AWS4GB, featuring 2 CPU cores, 4GB RAM, and 80GB SSD storage with 4TB bandwidth.

Scaling up, AWS8GB, AWS16GB, and AWS32GB offer increased resources at $89.95, $149.95, and $249.95 per month respectively. Users will get free website migration and 24/7 support with an unconditional money-back guarantee.

WP (WordPress) Hosting

For WordPress hosting, ScalaHosting offers four tiers similar to their shared hosting plans. Plans start at $2.95 per month for WP Mini, featuring 10GB NVMe SSD storage.

Scaling up, WP Start, WP Advanced, and Entry Cloud offer increased resources and premium features. With flexible billing options ranging from 1 month to 3 years, ScalaHosting makes it easy to find the perfect plan for your budget and requirements.

The Entry Cloud offers the OpenLiteSpeed web server which is considered the fastest web server in the world; Entry Cloud is priced at $14.95 /mo.

Reseller Hosting Options 

For those interested in starting a hosting business, ScalaHosting provides reseller hosting packages. The company lacks dedicated hosting options, but reseller plans allow users to host multiple client accounts. 

Starting at $14.95 per month for Scala1, you can manage up to 20 accounts with 25GB SSD storage. Scaling up, Scala2, and Scala3 plans provide increased resources and capacity to manage up to 40 and 60 accounts respectively. Save up to 17% on your hosting costs with the introductory offers. With the Entry Cloud plan, manage unlimited accounts at just $14.95 per month.

E-commerce VPS Hosting 

Are you about to start an e-commerce website? ScalaHosting offers scalable WooCommerce hosting solutions for growing online stores. With the click of a button, you can install OpenCart, osCommerce, Magento, ZenCart, and more. Drag-and-drop functionality makes creating a great online store easy with just a few clicks.

With turbo-fast NVMe SSD storage, the Entry Cloud plan starts at $14.95 per month, allowing for 2 CPU cores and 2GB RAM. Scaling up, Woo Build #1, #2, and #3 provide increased resources to meet the demands of larger stores.

Customer Support

ScalaHosting offers excellent 24/7 customer support. If you need help before signing up, you can consult the company’s Knowledge Base or live web chat.

Through the live web chat, customer service representatives responded quickly to the questions. During my testing, I didn’t face any issues so there was no need to contact them, but I tested their live chat support and I got a reply within 30 seconds.

Pros and Cons of ScalaHosting

ScalaHosting Alternatives

Below are some of the alternatives to ScalaHosting that offer Similar features.

• GreenGeeks: GreenGeeks, as the name suggests is an eco-friendly hosting provider that offers similar VPS plans and can be a good substitute for ScalaHosting.
• Liquidweb: Founded in 1997, Liquidweb is one of the oldest web hosting companies among these alternatives. The Base VPS plan starts at $20 per month.
• Hostinger: Hostinger is another VPS provider that offers affordable VPS hosting that starts at just 4.49/mo.

Final Verdict on ScalaHosting

ScalaHosting’s focus on managed VPS hosting makes it a dependable choice for websites requiring scalability and reliability. When it comes to cons, I think ScalaHosting misses out on offering its own CDN like how Rocket.net offers in-built Cloudflare Enterprise for its users.

However, Customers of SclaHosting seem to be loving the performance they offer. So if you are thinking of changing your existing hosting about buying hosting for the first time you can try ScalaHosting without any doubt. Check the plans and choose according to your needs.

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